Page 229 of Styx

silent words passed between us.

And then he slowly nodded.

Olympus

The invitation came not long after

I had sent my own messenger.

As Oceanus’s palace now no longer

contained Gods fighting the Olympians,

Metis herself escorted us to Zeus.

In her time at war, Metis’s might

had only grown. She could harness

the winds at whim in a way

neither Asteria nor I

could ever have mastered.

We had all underestimated her,

and it was our own undoing.

To Pallas and I, and our children,

Metis only smiled.

She embraced me and said tenderly,

‘You have made the right choice.

Do not doubt that.

Zeus will treat you and yours well.’

A darkness unsettled me still,

but to Metis I offered a tight smile

as she harnessed the winds again

and we stepped, seemingly, into air.

‘The journey is not long,’

Metis reassured us all.

As we flew together into the clouds,

it was Bia who first saw it.

‘Mother, look!’ And there it was.